


Prick up those pretty ears

by notallballs (notallbees)



Series: Kemonomimi [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Animal Ears, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Graduation, Kemonomimi, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Canon, judge not etc, they have bunny ears okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 14:29:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14191035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notallbees/pseuds/notallballs
Summary: "Oi, Captain. Tell us all about that girl that rejected you last week."Hajime's shoulders stiffened."Makki!" Oikawa wailed. "Where did you hear that? Is that what she's been telling people?"Hanamaki shrugged. "Sounds likely to me. Mattsun?""Totally plausible," Matsukawa agreed, nodding along. "Youhavebeen dumped three times in a row. What's your secret?"A little misunderstanding about a graduation confession drives a wedge between Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Also, they have bunny ears. This has very little relevance to anything.





	Prick up those pretty ears

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pussycat_scribbles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pussycat_scribbles/gifts).



> and so everyone began to realise that my relationship with pussycat_scribbles is one of those fics where a series of escalating dares ends up in a friends to lovers situation, but in this case the lovers is replaced by us drawing/writing increasingly freaky/borderline-furry shit. we're a friends to furries fic.
> 
> i told her that if she drew it, I'd write it. [well, she did](https://twitter.com/pussycat_tweets/status/980545178766331904), so I did.

Hajime was running late. He'd started out on time, but there'd been a misunderstanding with his mom who was expecting him to watch his little brother, and then the lace in his trainer had snapped in two when he was getting ready to leave, and as if that wasn't enough, he'd missed the bus. By the time Hajime finally arrived at the café, the others had already finished their drinks, just in time for him to buy everyone a round as penance for his lateness. 

"Three shots, and as much extra cream as they'll give you," Hanamaki demanded, grinning at him. 

"Whatever's the most expensive drink they do," Matsukawa put in, presumably relieved not to be the last one there for once.

Hajime groaned as he reached into his pocket for his wallet. "Fine, one heart attack and one overpriced garbage," he said, turning away. 

"Wait, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa yelped, reaching out to snag his sleeve. "What about me?"

Hajime put on a scowl and turned to face his best friend. Oikawa was pouting, his long ears drooping in an exaggerated performance of rejection. Hajime rolled his eyes. "I'm not forgetting you, dumbass," he sighed. "But you always order the same thing."

"Maybe I want something different today," Oikawa said in a sniffy voice, reaching for the menu. 

"Whatever," Hajime muttered, sliding into the booth beside him. He glanced at Matsukawa and Hanamaki. "Sorry, guys, but you've only got yourselves to blame for inviting him."

Oikawa elbowed him. "Don't be mean, Iwa-chan. You'd all be bored without me."

Hajime glanced up and caught Matsukawa's eye, and the two exchanged an amused look while Oikawa was distracted. 

"Oikawa's got a point," Hanamaki observed, leaning across the table with a dangerous look in his eye. "Oi, Captain. Tell us all about that girl that rejected you last week."

Hajime's shoulders stiffened.

"Makki!" Oikawa wailed. "Where did you hear that? Is that what she's been telling people?"

Hanamaki shrugged. "Sounds likely to me. Mattsun?"

"Totally plausible," Matsukawa agreed, nodding along. "You _have_ been dumped three times in a row. What's your secret?"

"In case you ever need to repel women?" Hanamaki asked, chuckling.

"Makki!" 

Hajime slipped away from the table again while the three of them were sniping back and forth. It was quiet in the café, and even standing at the counter, Hajime could still hear snippets of the conversation. One ear twitched around to listen while he put in everyone's orders with the barista. He shouldn't have been surprised. Oikawa was always surrounded by girls, one way or another, he'd just never seemed to pay much attention to them before. He shook himself, trying to put the whole thing out of his mind. Worrying about it wouldn't do him any good either way.

The others were still arguing when he returned to the table, so caught up that they didn't seem to notice him return.

"Makki-chan," Oikawa growled, in the same tone of voice he used for disciplining Takeru's puppy. "Give it _back_."

" _To my heart's desire_ " Hanamaki read, his face lit with barely-restrained delight.

Matsukawa smothered a giggle behind his hand. 

"Makki!" 

A quick glance at Oikawa showed that he was sitting forward in the booth, hands clenched around the edge of his seat, high spots of colour on his cheeks and his ears twitching back and forth. 

"Where did this come from?" Hajime asked, looking from Oikawa to the others.

"Oikawa's bag," Matsukawa said, grinning. "He got a love note from someone."

" _I've liked you for so long, and I wanted to tell you how I feel before we leave on Friday._ "

Oikawa's knuckles were turning white. "Makki," he hissed.

"Go on, go on," Matsukawa said, still doing a bad job of suppressing his laughter. 

Hajime looked away. 

" _You're so talented and clever, and so very handsome—_ "

Here Hanamaki broke off, listing over to smother his giggles in Matsukawa's shoulder. 

"Guys," Iwaizumi growled. "Leave it, would you?" 

"He's almost done," Matsukawa said, wrenching the note from Hanamaki's limp fingers. "Listen— _I love your wide, verdant eyes_ —verdant?" Matsukawa looked up. "Doesn't that mean a forest?"

Hanamaki collapsed in a fit of laughter. Beside Hajime, Oikawa was shaking, still gripping the seat tightly. Hajime couldn't look at him. 

"Anyway, it finishes— _but most of all, I love your soft little ears. They look so—" Matsukawa paused, choking up with laughter and forcing it down again. "—so silky, and I want to—want to—to—"_

Matsukawa gave up, slapping the note down on the table and keeling over on top of Hanamaki. The two of them were howling with laughter, Hanamaki wiping his cheek with his sleeve. 

Hajime noticed with a start that he was thumping the heel of his right foot against the floor, and quickly stilled it. "You guys are pathetic," he sighed, reaching over to pick up the note. He hadn't intended to look at it, but Oikawa didn't reach out to stop him from seeing it. He turned away instead, so that all Hajime could see of him was the bright pink skin on the back of his neck, and his long ears flattened down toward his shoulders. Frowning, Hajime turned the note over and skimmed it. 

_I want to hold you in my arms and stroke them_.

Hajime turned the note over to check that he hadn't missed something. "What's so funny about that?" he asked, putting the note down in front of Oikawa. "Just because neither of you have ever had a girlfriend."

"Ouch," Matsukawa said in a flat tone.

Hanamaki snorted. "It's funny because it's Oikawa."

"Yeah, can you imagine someone seriously wanting to date him once they find out how bratty he really is underneath those pretty ears?"

"Silky though they may be."

"Guys," Hajime said, groaning. "You're being dicks, okay? Shut the fuck up about it already."

Hanamaki rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Iwaizumi-san."

"Yeah, keep your knickers on, knight in shining armour," Matsukawa said, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Hajime shook his head. "Drink your shitty coffee already." 

Matsukawa and Hanamaki exchanged a look in their secret language, before Hanamaki shrugged and launched into an anecdote about his aunt who was visiting from Osaka. 

Oikawa remained silent. Frowning, Hajime shifted his leg over, pressing it lightly against Oikawa's, but the moment they touched, Oikawa jerked away from him. Hajime sighed and glanced over. The note still lay untouched on the table in front of him, and he was staring down at his apple green tea, his cheeks so pink that his freckles stood out starkly against his skin. His ears were still lying flat, and Hajime had the sudden urge to reach over and put a hand on his shoulder, to run his hand over the soft length of Oikawa's ears.

"What is it?" Oikawa whispered, his low voice harsh and cold. "Don't you want to laugh at me too?"

Hajime frowned. "I told them to stop, didn't I?" He gestured to the note. "Who's it from?"

Oikawa gritted his teeth. "Nobody."

"Alright, jeez. I already told you, I'm not gonna make fun."

"No," Oikawa snarled. "It's not _from_ anybody. I wrote it."

Hajime stared at him. "You—what?"

"Get out of my way," Oikawa hissed, snatching up the note and his bag. 

"What? Why?""

Oikawa gave him a violent shove. "Move, Iwa-chan!" 

Nonplussed, Hajime slipped out of the booth and watched as Oikawa scrambled past him, abandoning his tea. 

"Oikawa—" Hanamaki called out, looking up in surprise, his ears pricking up. "Where are you going?"

"Something we said?" Matsukawa drawled, looking less concerned. 

Hajime sat, frowning at Oikawa's untouched tea. As far as he knew, Oikawa had never really pursued anyone before. If a pretty girl asked him out, he'd say yes, and not really consider the consequences. This was different. 

"Oi, Iwa," Hanamaki said, flicking a tiny marshmallow at him. 

"You're both assholes," Hajime sighed, reaching for his jacket. "Don't steal my cream, I'll be back in a minute."

Oikawa was already halfway down the street when Hajime stepped outside. He was walking quickly, his hands in his pockets and his chin tucked against his chest. 

"Oi!" Hajime yelled, jogging after him. "Wait up, you overgrown string bean!"

Oikawa's shoulders jumped up even higher, and he glanced over his shoulder with wide eyes, ears pricking up a little. "Iwa-chan, go away!"

Hajime scowled at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean," he growled, catching up to him and jostling Oikawa with his elbow. "What did you run off for? I know they were being pricks but they don't mean it."

Oikawa said nothing, merely put his head down and quickened his pace so that Hajime had to jog to keep up with him. 

"Oi! Floppykawa, come on—"

"Don't call me that," Oikawa snapped, turning away from him. 

Hajime groaned, and reached out to tug on Oikawa's sleeve. "Oikawa—" 

Oikawa rounded on him. "Leave me alone, Iwa-chan!"

Stunned, Hajime recoiled from him, snatching his hand back. _He knows_ , Hajime thought, ice cold fingers closing around his insides. _He knows and he hates me._ He said nothing, watching as Oikawa whirled away from him again and stormed off in the direction of the train station. 

 

—

 

With no school, and no volleyball practice, the next few days stretched out interminably. When Hajime didn't return to the café without Oikawa, Hanamaki and Matsukawa had texted him a stilted apology, which Hajime waved off. They really hadn't been any worse than they usually were, there was just clearly something about that letter that had made Oikawa twitchy. 

Hajime groaned and rolled over on his futon to stare at the ceiling. Something dug into his back, and he reached under himself with a wince, coming up with one of his brother's dinosaur toys. Sighing, Hajime turned the toy over and ran his thumb over the characters of his own name, etched clumsily into the underside. His mother had given the toys to Chiaki without asking him, and Hajime could remember being upset for all of five minutes, until he saw how much his brother loved them. Oikawa had been more upset on his behalf than Hajime was, but Oikawa had never been very good at sharing. 

He tossed the toy aside and stared up at the patterns in the paint on his bedroom ceiling. It had been four days since Oikawa stormed out of the café, and Hajime hadn't heard from him since then. He'd gone through anger and out the other side, and was now strangely resigned to the silence. Maybe it would make things easier when they started university in a few weeks, no longer able to rely on their perfect trust.

Hajime snorted and rolled over to smush his face into his pillow again. As if that was something they'd ever had. 

There was a sharp knock on the front door, making Hajime's ears prick up with interest. He groaned and pushed himself up from his futon a short way, but before he could move, he heard his mom answering the door. Hajime flopped back down again with a sigh,relieved not to have to get up. He wondered if Oikawa had got on and made his confession yet. If maybe that was why he'd been so quiet; he'd probably been accepted and was spending every moment with his new girlfriend before he moved around.

The familiar sound of footsteps thundered up the stairs, and Hajime groaned again, preparing himself to be assaulted by Chiaki, home from school and demanding attention. Instead, whoever it was paused outside his bedroom door, and knocked softly before sliding open it open.

"Iwa-chan?"

Hajime sat bolt upright. "Oikawa!?"

Oikawa looked down at him. "What are you doing lying around, lazy-chan? I thought you were too busy to see me, and all you're doing is napping!"

"Oi," Hajime said, bristling. Without meaning to, he started drumming his right heel against the floor. "You're the one that marched off and told me to get lost."

"Ah," Oikawa said, flushing. "Well, you don't normally listen to me."

"You're the one who doesn't listen," Hajime snarled. "What're you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be off with your new girlfriend?"

Oikawa blinked at him. "What girlfriend?"

"Whoever you wrote that letter for!" 

Oikawa's eyes widened, and he quickly slammed the door shut behind him. "Not so loud!" he hissed when he turned back to Hajime. 

"What? Why?"

For several moments they stared at one another, Oikawa's ears twitching back and forth as he chewed on his bottom lip, clearly debating what to say. Finally he dropped down to a crouch, so that they were roughly at eye level, his ears still twitching slightly. "Are you angry with me?" he asked in a small voice.

Hajime opened his mouth. Was he? He didn't know. "Yes," he said, adding a scowl for good measure. "You were a prick."

"I was embarrassed!" Oikawa wailed.

"Why? Just because you wrote a stupid letter?"

There was an awkward silence. "You think it's stupid too?" Oikawa asked at last, his lower lip wobbling. 

"What? No, I—"

"Do you think it's funny if I like someone?" Oikawa demanded. 

Hajime groaned and covered his face. "Oikawa," he sighed, "I don't care who you like, alright? Just go and ask them already, and stop making my life annoying."

He looked up, and found Oikawa watching him with a face that made it look as if he'd just been slapped. His ears had swiveled around, lying down toward his shoulders again. Hajime's heart sank. 

"Fine then," Oikawa snapped, pushing himself to his feet again. "I thought I was going to miss you, Iwa-chan, but it looks as if you'll be much happier without me around _annoying_ you when we move."

Hajime sighed. "Oikawa—"

"Forget it." Oikawa yanked open the door again and stepped out, slamming it behind him once more. 

Hajime winced, a horrible sick feeling curdling in his stomach. He watched the door and waited for the sound of Oikawa's footsteps thundering back down the stairs, but it didn't come. After a minute or so, a telltale creak of the floorboards told him that Oikawa was still standing outside his room. Frowning, Hajime crawled across the room and went to sit beside the door. A few moments later, he heard another creak and then the rustle of Oikawa sitting down on the other side. 

"Iwa-chan?" Oikawa said softly. 

Hajime closed his eyes. He could picture Oikawa on the other side, his legs tucked underneath him, fiddling with the silky tip of one of his ears, the way he always used to when they were kids. They'd been in the same class in grade school, and when Oikawa got bored or distracted in class he would lean on Hajime's shoulder and fiddle with his ear, stroking it between his fingers like a comfort blanket. Hajime was so used to it that he never really noticed until one day they got a new teacher, and she told Oikawa to stop. 

Hajime thought about Oikawa going to a new school, a new class, a new team without him. Thinking about it made his stomach hurt.

"Iwa?"

"Who's the letter for, Oikawa?"

Oikawa's sigh was audible through the door. There was some rustling, and then Hajime glanced down to see Oikawa shoving a note underneath it. 

Hajime's heart fluttered in his throat. He reached down to grab the note, and unfolded it as quickly as he could without tearing it

 

_Iwa-chan,_  
_I'm bad at this, obviously. I don't want you to go away and forget me. I don't want to let you go without telling you how important you are._  
_Please don't stop being my friend. I don't want to change things or make them weird. I just couldn't say goodbye without telling you that I like you_

 

Hajime didn't read any further. He sat up on his knees and yanked open the door. Oikawa fell through the gap with a yelp, crashing against him and knocking him back onto his bedroom floor.

"What the—"

"Iwa-chan—!"

"Dammit, shittykawa!"

They untangled themselves, and Oikawa propped himself up, his hands either side of Hajime's waist. "Um."

"It was for me?"

Oikawa turned pink. "W-well—"

"Floppykawa," Hajime groaned, smacking a hand over his own face. "You _moron_."

"I'm sorry!" Oikawa wailed. "I shouldn't have told you, just forget it, I—"

Hajime grabbed Oikawa's face with both hands and kissed him square on the lips. Oikawa's eyes widened, his face blazing hot against Hajime's palms. They both pulled back, staring at one another.

"Iwa-chan," Oikawa said faintly, his gaze dropping to Hajime's mouth. "Just how long have you been holding onto that one?"

Hajime bit his lip, trying without luck to tie down his smile. "How long have you been holding onto your shitty love letter?"

"Don't be mean!" Oikawa wailed, flushing more deeply.

"Would I ever even have heard it, if it wasn't for Hanamaki?"

Oikawa groaned and lowered his eyes. "I would've told you eventually."

"What was all that shit about my eyes?" Hajime growled, thinking back to the letter from the café. "And my 'little ears'? You bastard."

"But I love your cute little ears," Oikawa protested. 

Hajime's face heated. "Shut up, floppykawa."

Oikawa groaned. "They're not _that_ floppy," he mumbled, his usual protest. 

"Shut the damn door already, would you?" Hajime grumbled, shifting against the floor to try and tip Oikawa off him. "What if my mom walks in? Or Chiakkun?"

"Fine, fine," Oikawa sighed, pushing himself up and reaching over to close the door again. He glanced back at Hajime with a thoughtful expression. "Hey, Iwa-chan, why do you want the door closed? Are you planning to kiss me some more?"

Hajime's face grew warmer. "No."

Oikawa grinned. "Because you're supposed to tell me you like me first. I told you."

"You didn't," Hajime said, feeling a need to be contrary. "You wrote it, that's not the same thing."

"Augh, Iwa-chan—"

Hajime sat up, and reached over to flick one of Oikawa's long ears with a fingertip. "Fine. Together?"

Oikawa laughed and nodded. "Alright then." He turned around, putting his hands on his knees. "On three?"

Hajime nodded, and mirrored Oikawa's pose. "One—"

"Two—"

"Three! I like you, Iwa-chan." "I like you, floppykawa."

Oikawa squeaked in outrage. "Don't call me that when you're confessing to me!"

Hajime laughed loudly. "Too late." He leaned in, ready to meet Oikawa halfway. After a moment's hesitation, Oikawa leaned forward too, and kissed him softly. 

"Hey," Hajime whispered as they parted. "You still wanna stroke my silky ears?"

Wailing, Oikawa covered his face with both hands. "Iwa-chan, please—"

"Hey, I might not offer again…"

Oikawa peeked through his fingers. "You'll really let me?"

Hajime shrugged. "You always used to, when we were kids."

"It's a little different now, Iwa-chan," Oikawa murmured, lowering his gaze.

"Yeah," Hajime agreed, warmth pooling in his chest, the back of his throat. "And I want you to." He leaned closer, nuzzling his cheek against Oikawa's, and reached up to run his fingers through the back of Oikawa's hair.

Oikawa tensed against him, a little shiver running through him. "Iwa—" he whispered. 

Hajime caught the end of one of Oikawa's long ears and pressed the soft, silky tip between his fingertips, massaging it gently with his thumb.

"Hh—Iwa," Oikawa groaned, slumping against him. 

Hajime laughed. "I thought you wanted to reciprocate."

Oikawa groaned against Hajime's shoulder. 

"Lazykawa," Hajime murmured, moving his hand higher, finding the soft, downy fur at the top of Oikawa's ear and then stroking his hand over the velvety curve of it, all the way down to the tip again.

"Mm, Iwa-chan," Oikawa sighed, snuggling closer. "'s nice."

"I think the others were right," Hajime teased, reaching up to gather Oikawa's ears gently together so he could stroke them both. "You really are a brat under those pretty ears."

Oikawa whined. "Iwa—"

"But I like you anyway," Hajime said, grinning. He looked down at Oikawa, slowly melting into him, and rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, we're switching in a minute."

"Whatever you say, Iwa-chan."

**Author's Note:**

> [reblog on tumblr](https://notallballs.tumblr.com/post/172533962237/prick-up-those-pretty-ears-notallballs) | [RT on twitter](https://twitter.com/notallbees/status/980942010063310848) | [my iwaoi fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&work_search%5Brelationship_ids%5D%5B%5D=1329922&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=0&fandom_id=758208&pseud_id=notallballs&user_id=notallbees)
> 
>  
> 
> Please check out these gorgeous bunnyboy illustrations! [here by misift](https://twitter.com/skmisfit/status/1029798093259190273) and [here by kot!](https://twitter.com/nekokat42/status/995332917986443265)


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